The New South Wales government has given planning approvals to two new big battery projects that have been trudging through the planning process for more than 18 months.
The planning approvals following recent criticism of the NSW planning process, with developers complaining of lengthy delays that threatened to create a shortfall of capacity as the state seeks to accelerate the green energy transition that will replace the state’s ageing coal fired power station.
Battery storage will be a key role in enabling that transition, and NSW energy minister Penny Sharpe – who says there is 5.5GW of “firming storage” in the state’s planning pipeline, has flagged a review of the planning process to try and resolve any bottlenecks.
Firm Power hopes to build the Muswellbrook BESS, a 150MW/300MWh installation proposed for the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) next to an Ausgrid substation and will cost about $157 million, according to the development approval document.
The battery should be up and running next year, if the company’s 12-month construction timeline holds.
It’s had a slightly tougher time through the planning process, which it started in September 2021, with 17 requests for more information mainly about how it will mitigate disturbances to the surrounding residences.
It’s supposed to have a 20 year lifetime and originally was proposed to deliver up to four-hours storage, or 600MWh, from a 150MW capacity battery.
It’s not the only BESS in the area. Just down the road is AGL’s proposal for a 500MW grid-scale battery with up to four hours of storage, as partial replacement for decommissioned Liddell coal power plant.
Esco Pacific also plans its own battery project in the region, with a 135MW battery (no storage duration specified) to be built next to its proposed 135MW Muswellbrook solar farm.
Playing the renewables game
ACEnergy’s Apsley BESS, near Wellington, is a 120MW/240MWh battery in the Central-West Orana REZ, and is set to cost around $123 million.
It’s a more direct play on the surfeit of renewable energy farms in the area and will connect to transmission lines to the east.
There are slightly more than 1 GW of solar projects in planning or operating in the area surrounding the Apsely BESS site, but it’s also not the only battery player in the area.
Shell and Ampyr Australia’s proposed 500 MW / 1000 MWh BESS is 15 minutes up the road from the ACEnergy project, but slightly behind in the planning process — although the backers still expect to break ground this year.
The Apsley BESS’ capacity has also been a moveable feast since it launched itself into the planning process.
The original design was for a 160 MW/640MWh BESS, according to the scoping report, which moved to a 200MW/400MWh proposal before ending at its final capacity, which was the maximum network connection capacity at that site, the company says.
Construction will start in the second quarter next year with commissioning in 2025.
Meeting NSW targets
What the planing department liked about both projects were the promise of 132 jobs, the $280 million regional capital injection, and of course the grid stability angle to firm renewable energy and provide peak dispatching services.
The battery energy storage systems (BESS) from ACEnergy and Firm Power were approved in early June and July respectively, but the latter has been working on its pitch since September 2021 and the former since January last year.
“Giving these batteries the green light will play a critical role in securing reliable, renewable energy across NSW,” minister Sharpe said in a statement.
“Batteries are not only critical to supporting our state’s transition to net zero, they will assist us to get there sooner.”
Sharpe says there are currently 27 large-scale renewable energy, transmission lines and storage projects under assessment in the NSW planning system. If approved, they would provide 9 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy and 5.5 MW of firming storage, the government said.
The state has a target of 12GW of new wind and solar capacity by 2030.
The 850 MW / 1,680 MWh Waratah battery on the decommissioned Munmorah coal power plant site — also in the Hunter REZ — was approved in February, while RES Australia’s proposed 250 MW / 600 MWh battery, next door to Ausgrid’s Brandy Hill substation, is still in the earliest stages of the planning process.
NSW has one operating big battery, the 50MW/75MWh Wallgrove battery in western Sydney, while the 150MW, 200MWh Darlington battery complex is going through the commissioning process.
See RenewEconomy’s Big Battery Storage Map of Australia
